A long time ago, there was a small mom and pop store called Moya’s in Wainaku… which is under Kaiwiki where I was born. Moya’s was a tiny wee little place, a store you stopped at only because you needed something quick OR if you were heading to the cane fields and needed a bento for lunch.

The older local ladies woke up early in the morning and cooked for the bentos. You would come in and tell them what you wanted and they would pack it up for you. Now, Moya’s has gone the way of the Dodo… which oddly enough is the name of the family that owns the funeral home* down the street (true story….that’s their name. I thought it was hilarious as a kid. They scolded me for making fun).

Focus…Moya’s, they would cook things that could survive a trip up the mountain and didn’t need to be iced.

NO ONE could match their gobo and to this day, I long for it. Um… a burdock root dish they made. But one of the other things they would automatically give you were these potatoe cakes. They were made from mashed potatoes, minced onion, butter and egg then rolled in bread crumbs. I make them once in a while. They’re pretty easy because you can make them with instant mashed potates but they need a bit of chilling before you toss them into the oil or they spread out like latkes and cook horribly. The secret to a good Moya potatoe cake is the fridge.

Moya’s was a landmark. Someplace to go grab a candy bar or lunch if you were early enough. They only cooked in the wee hours of the morning. If they ran out of something, too bad. That’s all there was. But it was Moya’s and definitely a treat to go grab a bento from there.

Tonight’s Dinner is fish sticks and potatoe cakes. It’s an easy dinner. I’m lazy. I’ve been job hunting and thinking about Whiskey and Wry for my next project. The creamy stuff is a spicy tartar sauce for the fish sticks. Sue me, I love frozen fish sticks. *grins* I also like boxed mac and cheese. It’s all what hits those buttons.

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* My cousin Dennis works at Dodo Mortuary digging graves. I’ve always wanted him to grab me a staff t-shirt but no one in the family approves of my humour.